Nephi begins rhetorically. Even though Nephi would truly have loved to know the answer to this and the following questions, he probably knows that there is no answer which Laman and Lemuel could give that Nephi could understand. As Nephi begins what he hopes is a convincing speech (after all - he was able to convince them once before) he emphasizes the role of the Lord in their current state. That will be the critical issue, whether or not the exodus of the family is a directive from God, or simply the rantings of a visionary man.